Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman dismissed accusations by Candace Owens that he staged an intervention with Charlie Kirk over the conservative activist's views on Israel during a private meeting in the Hamptons weeks before Kirk's assassination.
Owens, a former Turning Point USA employee, said on her YouTube show that Ackman was 'very upset' by Kirk's 'rational thoughts about Israel' and that 'threats were made' during the gathering. She said she heard the account secondhand and welcomed Ackman to publicly dispute it.
Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager and longtime Democrat who shifted to supporting Donald Trump in 2024, dismissed the allegations in a post on X, writing: "At no time have I ever threatened Charlie Kirk, Turning Point, or anyone associated with him." "I have never blackmailed anyone, let alone Charlie Kirk. I have never offered Charlie or Turning Point any money in an attempt to influence Charlie's opinion on anything."
The meeting occurred during the first week of August at Kirk's Save The West retreat in the Hamptons, and sources told the Daily Mail that it covered a broad range of topics, not limited to Israel. Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet said the meeting was cordial, with team members denying any pressure from Ackman. In an X post, Kolvet wrote: "Bill never yelled at Charlie, never pressed him on Bibi, never gave him a list of Charlie's offenses against Israel."
Owens' account has been amplified by other right-wing figures, including Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Matt Gaetz. Carlson claimed on his program that Kirk hated Benjamin Netanyahu and his war against Gaza despite loving Israel, and that Kirk was "tormented" by Zionist donors for platforming Carlson at his event. The pair's alleged confrontation took place at the hotel in the Hamptons where the event was held in August.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz weighed in on X to push back on Carlson, writing that he knew Charlie well and that their last conversation concerned the rising, toxic wave of antisemitism on the right. Xaviaer DuRousseau, a Conservative influencer who attended the summit, told the Daily Mail that Owens' claims were "bizarre" and that he had no idea where the narrative originated. "If that happened, it was behind closed doors with nobody around, because whenever I saw them together, they were in great spirits — laughing and talking," DuRousseau said.
Public records show Kirk regularly engaged with Jewish communities and received public tributes from Netanyahu after his death. One Jewish conservative leader called Owens' claims "revisionist history," recalling Kirk's participation in a nearly three-week Israel trip in 2019 alongside numerous Turning Point student leaders. Justine Broke Murray, a Jewish conservative influencer who hosts MRCTV, told the Daily Mail that "Charlie would host Shabbat dinners at TPUSA conferences with Young Jewish Conservatives' help. He made sure to attend and speak with each of us." Murray noted that Kirk included programming about "defeating Jew hatred on campus" at virtually every Turning Point event she attended.
Owens' remarks have drawn criticism, with opponents accusing her of exploiting Kirk's death to advance her anti-Israel rhetoric. After Kirk's assassination last week during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, Owens was one of the earliest figures to post a heartfelt tribute to her former boss and longtime friend. The day after Kirk's assassination, Ackman posted on X that he was "incredibly privileged to have spent a day and shared a meal with Kirk this summer. He was a giant of a man," Ackman said.